TALLAHASSEE – The weather cooperated with Major League Baseball Spring Training and for the 10th time since 2000, total attendance for Florida Spring Training topped 1.5 million fans.

In 239 games played at 14 locations, a total of 1,571,196 fans passed through the turnstiles. Only three games were lost to rain over the 33 days of the 2011 Grapefruit League season.

The total attendance figure was compiled by the Florida Sports Foundation, from daily box scores and confirmed by each of the 15 teams in the Grapefruit League.

The highlight of the season was record-setting total attendance at Sarasota where attendance at Ed Smith Stadium increased by 12 percent and the Baltimore Orioles played before crowds in excess of 8,000 in eight home games.

The league total reflects the second-highest per-game average attendance of 6,575 fans, just shy of last year’s record average of 6,640.

The Boston Red Sox played their final season at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers before 120,613 fans for 16 games. The Red Sox will debut their new spring home at 11,000-seat Jet Blue Park in 2012.

The Yankees led all 15 teams with a total of 163,085 fans watching 15 games and the Minnesota Twins averaged 8,091 fans per game attending 16 games in Fort Myers.